Accessories are a great way to express your personal style and tastes. Even with a simple and neutral outfit, you can always count on a great statement necklace or a glitzy pair of earrings to dress it up. Some of us like the dainty selections, while others love to be fashion-forward with their jewelry picks. However, no matter what your preference is, there is always a time to rock it out with your accessories. This is where jewelry designer Colleen Poitras comes in.

Colleen Poitras is a woman who grew up in fashion (her mother was a seamstress) and translated her passion for the industry into a full-fledged career. By combining her passion for fashion with a love of jewelry, Colleen threw herself into design classes and the new chapter of her life was created: launching herself as a creative jewelry and accessory designer with an eye for pairing unique materials and merging them into one unified piece.

Upon first glance of Colleen’s pieces, I was extremely impressed with her use of materials and how she combined the materials to create original, cohesive pieces that are different from what I have seen on the market. Some of her go-to materials include leather, metal, sterling silver and even concrete!

Here are some of my favourites from Colleen Poitras:

COOL CONCRETE…

LEATHER & METAL…

MAKING A STATEMENT…

To learn more about Colleen Poitras’ jewelry designs or to purchase any of these incredible pieces, please visit www.colleenpoitras.com.

We could all use a tip or two on how to save some money from time to time, but the sad thing is that most of those tips include a complete lifestyle change in order to see a return of your money. You will find yourself reading about skipping family holidays and switching to lifestyle which is more sustainable; and all you need is a nice tip on how to save some extra cash which you could use on that very holiday. Luckily, not all money saving tips include a complete lifestyle change.

Save money on water. Start with little things: when you’re brushing your teeth, close the tap. Or simply have a glass of water to wash your mouth afterwards instead of standing next to an open tap and brushing your teeth. In addition, how strong a faucet do you need while you’re doing the dishes? Replace your faucet with a low-flow one and see how your bills change for the better. You can cut your bills down from 25 up to 60%. These faucets are not expensive, they cost between $10 and $20 a piece, and the investment is worth it!

Plan ahead. Planning ahead is useful in all spheres of life, so why not plan ahead when you go grocery shopping too? Make a detailed list of things you need for that week and only go shopping once. Remember to really make a detailed list, for going back and forth for a forgotten loaf of bread and bag of sugar will waste your money, time, patience, and gas. In addition, stick to the list you made, many supermarkets make you spend more and buying a thing here and another one there will leave you penniless in the long run.

Saving money over night. So called ‘vampire electronics’ spend nearly a hundred dollars a year worth of electricity even when they’re turned off. It doesn’t matter if your TV or a cell phone chargers are only plugged in and not turned on, they’re still wasting electricity. So, to avoid paying higher electricity bills, plug your devices into power strips and make sure they’re switched off at the end of the day. When it comes to ‘invisible costs’ you should also consider investing in a better home insulation.

Saving money on TV and the internet. Almost every household has and needs a TV, good internet connection, and a phone; but in the long run, you’re paying three separate bills instead of one. Add a Netflix account to that and you can see where has all that money gone. To save a bit on all your tech needs, you can get a Compare Broadband bundle which combines all these things into one single service you pay. No separate bills and additional costs and you’ll save some time along with your money too.

Saving a bit of money is always a good idea, and it can certainly come in handy on a family holiday, and it can teach your children valuable lessons about money too. There is a great German proverb that says: “He who saves in little things, can be liberal in great ones”. So in order to be able to spend some more money someplace else, save on those little things in household.

John Stone is a regular contributor at Smoothdecorator blog. He’s a DIY enthusiast who occasionally likes to put his ideas down to paper and share them with like-minded people. His fields of interest include home improvement, sustainability, new technologies, and pretty much all-things-DIY.

This summer, The Domestic Peach is starting to discover new ways to enhance one’s health and fitness. During the month of August, we have hit the pavement to test out some great new fitness practices and try out some wonderful new recipes that are simple and delicious to whip up in the kitchen. For our first feature from our health and fitness exploration, our new Domestic Peach contributor Suzanne Paddock hit the hula hoop and tested out this new form of exercise as one of Toronto’s favourite alternative fitness studios, Brass Vixens. Here is what Suzanne had to say about the experience…

Have you been to Brass Vixens for a class yet? I highly recommend it. Just going to Brass Vixens itself feels like a fun and sexy adventure – far from your routine workout at the gym. Walking into their Queen West studio feels like entering a sultry, feminine boudoir with an air of naughtiness. But just as your mind starts conjuring up bawdy images, the staff warmly and encouragingly welcomes you – immediately putting you at ease.

Your eyes start to adjust to the low lighting and you begin to notice all the lavish, feminine touches from the damask wallpaper to the dressing room with the heavy velvet curtains. The space feels thoughtful and responsive, like it anticipated your needs and took care of your creature comforts all the while inviting you to let your guard down and have fun. It twists the classic bordello references around to focus on empowering you to occupy this once taboo space in a playful and supportive way.

If taking a pole dancing class seems a bit daunting (although I highly recommend it!), try “HoopVixens” their all levels hula hoop class. I took the 5:30pm Monday evening class with Miss V. Miss V took quick command of the class with pizzazz, and after a few quick fundamental instructions, we were off hooping. You quickly learn the surprisingly subtle range of motion that hooping actually requires and begin to tune into that sweet spot where your body and the hoop move together. Miss V continued her instructions by adding sultry arm sways and coquettish struts to the hooping.

Of course it’s not that easy for everyone. It took me most of the class before I could maintain long intervals of hooping. At first, the loud WHACK! of my hoop hitting the floor punctuated my attempts. I began to feel a bit discouraged but realized, while trying to walk and hoop at the same time, that I am not a side to side hooper but a front to back. After realizing this, I found my sweet spot and could keep the hoop going, which gave me a sense of accomplishment and relief! Thankfully, everyone drops their hoop at some point and as class continues the dropping tapers off considerably as mine did.

The first half of class focused entirely on hooping targeting your abdominal muscles, and the second half focused on dancing with the hoop, targeting your arms. Miss V showed us how to fluidly move the hoop around with different grips, hand movements and throws, all the while incorporating sexy hip sways and struts. When it moves, the decorative tape wound around the hoop creates an optical illusion that gives this mesmerizing sense of magic about the burlesque style of dance accompanying it. I liked the cardio of the hooping in the beginning of class but really enjoyed the playfulness and enchantment of the second half.

Miss V described the class as “light, playful and sexy”, and I totally agree. While not an intense workout, the class provided low-level cardio and some ab and arm work. But perhaps just as importantly, it does so in this interesting and unconventional setting that brings out the coquettish and adventurous spirit we all have, which I found to be just as invigorating as the exercise itself.

Suzanne Paddock is a freelance writer in Toronto, Canada. Her interests draw from cultural and gender studies, from health and well-being to sex and sexuality. Suzanne believes in the value of a life examined and rooted in kindness. To contact Suzanne, please email her directly at suzannepaddock@gmail.com, or via Twitter or Instagram.